Coverage
The collections of the Frick Art Reference Library relate mainly to paintings, drawings, sculpture, and prints by artists from Europe and the Americas created in the Western tradition from the fourth to the mid-twentieth century. In addition, European decorative arts of the fifteenth to the nineteenth century are covered. Materials are collected in any format and in any language, with an increasing proportion of the collections being digital.
To search the collections of the Library, see our catalog and NYARC Discovery.
For more information about coverage, see the Collection Development Policy.
Books and Periodicals | Auction Catalogs | Photoarchive
E-Resources | Digital Collections | Web Archives
Books and Periodicals
Monographs, exhibition and collection catalogs, catalogues raisonnés, and periodicals form the majority of the print collections. The Library also has access to thousands of e-books and e-journals.
For books and periodicals, search our catalog.
To learn more about e-resources, see e-resources.
Auction Catalogs
Catalogs from more than 1,000 auction houses in Europe, Australia, and the Americas comprise the auction catalog collection. They range in date from the eighteenth century to the present. Annotated catalogs and price lists, when available, have been acquired to provide additional sales information.
For auction catalogs, search our catalog.
Photoarchive
The Photoarchive is a study collection of more than 1.2 million photographic reproductions of works of art from the fourth to the mid-twentieth century by artists trained in the Western tradition. Its documentation traces changes of attribution, ownership, and condition for many of the included works.
For Photoarchive materials, search our catalog.
To learn more about the Photoarchive, see Photoarchive.
E-Resources
The e-resources collection consists of databases, e-journals, e-books, and a selection of websites, many of which are freely accessible from remote locations. Access to some e-resources is only available onsite at the Library. A broad selection of e-books is available for short-term loan to registered users and may be accessed remotely after on-site registration for the e-book service is completed.
For e-resources, search our catalog.
Digital Collections
The Library is actively digitizing its collections for access and preservation. Priorities for digitization are the Photoarchive, archival documents, and rare books and auction catalogs.
For digital collections, search the Frick Digital Collections and/or our catalog.
Web Archives
The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC), of which the Library is a member, collects and archives websites for preservation purposes to make them available to the public now and in the future.
For web archives, search our catalog.
To nominate a Web site for archiving, see NYARC Web Archive Collections.
Library Acquisitions Fund
The Frick Art Reference Library remains at the forefront of art historical research through the growth of its world-class collection of books, monographs, catalogs, periodicals, and other resources. Donations to the Library Acquisitions Fund help with the purchase of rare and unique objects of historical value, making them freely available for use.
Support the Library’s mission by contributing today.